1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices used to hold fish after capture, and more particularly to a device for orienting a captured fish vertically to permit the fish to adjust its air bladder gradually.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fish have an air bladder that they use to maintain buoyancy at different water depths. It is known that an air bladder must be inflated when a fish dives deeper, because the greater pressure at the greater depths compresses the air bladder, causing the fish""s buoyancy to change. In order to maintain a comfortable level of buoyancy, the fish""s body removes air from the respiratory system and moves it to the air bladder. Conversely, a fish moving to a shallow depth must remove air from the air bladder.
Fish that are caught by normal fishing methods, such as a rod, reel, string and hook, often are caught at a significant depth. The fish are raised from that depth and held in a live well in the boat in which the fisherman rides while fishing. The water in live wells is typically one to two feet deep. Therefore, a fish that is caught at a depth significantly greater than one to two feet deep, and which is rapidly raised from that depth, will have to release air from its air bladder while in the live well.
However, a problem arises when fish are placed in a live well after being caught at a significant depth. Their over-inflated air bladders, which are located just behind the pectoral fins at the lower region of the body, are very buoyant at shallow depths and cause the fish to float sideways. Fish typically fight this orientation so hard that their bodies are not capable of releasing the air in their air bladders before the fish thrashes itself into a state of exhaustion, injury or death.
There are numerous methods for aiding the removal of air from fish air bladders. The most direct method is the removal of air by a hypodermic needle inserted through the side of the fish into the air bladder. Air is released through the needle for a brief period, as judged by the person performing this task, and the needle is removed. The disadvantage of this method is that there is no way of knowing with certainty whether enough air has been removed, and therefore the procedure may be ineffective. Furthermore, it is possible to injure or kill the fish by misplacement of the needle, or by the formation of a serious wound.
Other methods include the use of chemicals in the water of the live well in an effort to enhance the removal of air from the air bladders of fish. However, these chemicals, even if they work, are not a natural environment for the fish, and are costly. Furthermore, some live wells have openings that permit water from the body of water in which the boat is floating to enter into and exit out of the live well under the theory that a constant flow of fresh water will be beneficial to the fish. However, this releases chemicals to the environment, and necessitates the addition of even more chemicals to the live well as the chemical-laden water is diluted with new water.
There is a need for a device and method for facilitating the natural inflation and/or deflation of fish air bladders while the fish are held in a live well.
The invention is a device that keeps a fish vertically oriented in water in order to permit the fish to adjust the air in its air bladder. In a preferred embodiment, a belt is mounted circumferentially around the fish between the fish""s dorsal and pectoral fins. A weight is connected to the belt at the fish""s underside. The weight has sufficient mass to bias the fish toward a vertical orientation.
The preferred belt is elastic, and the preferred invention has means for adjusting the length of the belt, such as a clasp mounted to the belt, thereby permitting adjustment to the length of the belt to cause the belt to seat snugly against the fish.
In the preferred embodiment, a pouch is mounted to the belt, and the weight is inserted into the pouch. If more weight is desired, additional weights can be inserted into the pouch. The pouch is mounted to the belt on a side of the belt that faces away from the fish. Furthermore, the preferred embodiment includes means for connecting the belt to the fish""s dorsal fin, such as a fastener mounted to the belt at substantially an opposite side of the belt as the weight.
The invention also contemplates a method of keeping a fish vertically oriented in water. The method comprises mounting a weight to a belt. The weight has a mass sufficient to bias the fish vertically. The belt is placed circumferentially around the fish between the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins. The weight is positioned at the underside of the fish.
In a preferred method, the belt is tightened around the fish an amount sufficient to prevent substantial movement of the belt relative to the fish. A fastener that is mounted to the belt at a position substantially opposite to the weight is inserted through the fish""s dorsal fin. The step of mounting the weight to the belt comprises mounting a pouch to the belt and inserting one or more weights in the pouch. In a preferred method, the pouch is mounted on a side of the belt that faces away from the fish.